What Do Tariff Charges Really Mean for Shoppers?

We’ve all seen the news about tariffs, their unpredictability at times, and how these tariffs have affected politics and the stock market. More than two months after Trump’s April 2nd tariff announcement, the impact of the tariff charges are beginning to show.

McKinsey & Company found that consumer sentiment dropped 32 percent in May 2025. This correlates with the prediction from economists that consumer spending growth would slow to only 1% per year as tariff charges are passed on to consumers. And at the grass roots level, consumers are starting to share their individual experiences with rising prices and tariff charges on platforms like Reddit, X and PissedConsumer.com.

How Tariffs Impact Pricing

A tariff is a tax on items imported from another country. For example, if a car dealership imports new SUVs made overseas, the car dealership must pay a tariff, or tax, on the new vehicles. That makes the SUVs more expensive for the dealership to purchase.

Most companies prefer to pass at least some of the tariff charges on to consumers. This is reflected in higher prices for the item, or as some angry consumers are discovering, as unexpected tariff charges added as shipping costs or fees after purchase.

Real Tariff Impacts on Consumers

Review websites are beginning to see stories from customers about the direct impact of tariffs. Recently, a Wall Street Journal piece suggested that there is a “fog” around tariffs and price increases: prices are rising in some areas, but still steady in others amid delays, shifts, and waiting periods on new or adjusted tariffs.

But for many consumers, the situation isn’t foggy – it’s becoming very clear that prices are increasing.

In recent reviews, some customers are reporting hidden tariff charges after a checkout. One customer’s order was $40, but when the credit card is charged, the total bill is now $90 due to the exorbitant tariff-driven cost of delivery.

Other customers are being unexpectedly billed directly by shipping companies. In some cases, customers are able to fight back and refuse delivery, but in others they are stuck with higher charges and even collections action on unpaid delivery bills.

Protecting Yourself from Tariff Charges

Tariffs are still shifting, and consumer impacts are changing along with them. Being aware of the tariffs and how they can impact you is important, but there are also some proactive measures you can take to protect yourself.

Understand which items are most affected

Tariffs are taxes on imports, and items from other countries will be more heavily affected. While you may immediately think of certain vehicles and technology, there are many other items or components that are imported. Many products manufactured (or labeled) in the United States contain items manufactured outside of the country, which will increase prices as well.

Read checkout information carefully

Consumers will see tariff price increases in one of two ways: either the item price will rise, or tariff taxes will show up in shipping and delivery charges. Higher prices can be monitored, and you can lower these impacts by waiting for a sale or doing a bit of comparison shopping.

But tariff fees require more diligence. Companies or sellers attempting to pass these fees onto consumers will likely slip the higher delivery or shipping costs in at the last minute. During the online checkout, read the screen carefully. Look for the final calculated shipping fees. Read the fine print to see if there are additional costs for delivery, including third party delivery fees.

This is true even on sites you’ve used and trusted before. Many online shopping platforms include third-party sellers who may have their own small-print shipping policies.

Buy carefully

Online shopping is fun, and it’s a nice way to treat yourself or take advantage of sales. But this period of increasing prices and shifting tariffs might be an opportunity to change your spending habits in different directions.

Some consumer items impacted by tariffs you will have to buy, groceries or new shoes for growing children, for example, but other tariff-impacted items are more impulse or fun.

When you can, steer your spending away from high-tariff prices and toward items that are still enjoyable, but that come with more predictable price tags. Digital items, like streaming services or e-books, or experiences, like concert tickets or local attractions, aren’t subject to tariffs the way physical items might be.